MPCA NEWS

“We are tremendously appreciative of this funding that will enable us to hire, train, and integrate more than 30 community health workers into collaborative care teams in the first year at 16 Health Centers across the state,” said Kim Sibilsky, Chief Executive Officer, MPCA. Read more

During a tour of the Center for Family Health in Jackson on December 19, MPCA's CEO Kim Sibilsky presented U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow with a National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) 2014 Distinguished Community Health Champion Award. “We are tremendously grateful for Senator Stabenow’s long-time commitment to increasing access to primary care in Michigan and across the country. Her leadership exemplifies the value she places on Health Centers as critical sources of local care for so many who might otherwise go without care, and that is keeping people healthy and out of the emergency room, supporting local jobs, and saving the state and nation money,” said Sibilsky. Read more

MPCA Welcomes New Member, Isabella Citizens for Health

During the December 4 meeting of the MPCA Board of Directors, Isabella Citizens for Health, Inc. was approved as an active member of the Association. Established in 2010 for the purpose of building a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) to increase access to care in Isabella County, the organization opened a health care facility in Mount Pleasant in February 2013. In September 2014, Isabella Citizens for Health, Inc. was certified as a FQHC Look-Alike. Click here for the full list of MPCA members.

Online Registration Open for Media Training

Are you the media spokesperson at your Health Center? Are you responsible for pitching news to your local media? Are you asked by your Health Center’s leadership to respond to media inquiries about your area of expertise? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, then you won’t want to miss the half-day media training that MPCA is hosting in Lansing on February 4. Experts from Martin Waymire—all of whom are former reporters with decades of award-winning journalism experience—will coach attendees on how to effectively and proactively communicate with the media. What you say, what you don’t say, and when and how you say it can help or hurt your Health Center’s brand. This training is intended for Michigan Health Center chief executive officers, executive directors, and any other staff at your organization who interact with the media.

Results of MPCA eUpdate Readership Survey

Thank you to everyone who shared their feedback of the MPCA eUpdate by completing the readership survey. The feedback was very positive. The majority of survey respondents (94%) read the eUpdate every week or most weeks; 83% spend 5-15 minutes reading each issue; and 62% prefer to receive it weekly, as it is currently distributed. Many respondents also shared appreciation for the newsletter as “comprehensive,” “informational,” “one of the best,” and “a very valuable service.” We were also appreciative to learn of areas for improvement, We were also appreciative to learn of areas for improvement, so you will see a few changes to the eUpdate phased in during the first few months of 2015. Click here for a complete summary of the readership survey results. Please know we are always open to feedback and suggestions—email them to communications@mpca.net.

Annual Michigan Health Center Board Member Survey Open

By highlighting the most pressing training issues for board members, this survey will guide MPCA's development of the 2015 Health Center Board Member Training taking place May 12th in Midland and next year's monthly webinar series. MPCA values the feedback of board members, so please take a moment to complete the survey. We are collecting responses until Monday, December 29.

Please note that you must be logged in to MPCA’s online community when registering for MPCA-hosted events to receive a discounted rate if your organization is an MPCA member. If you are subscribed to the MPCA eUpdate, you have a profile in MPCA's online community. If you have forgotten your password, please use the "forgot password" link under the sign-in box to reset your password. If you need further assistance, please contact info@mpca.net.

MPCA posts job openings at Michigan Health Center Program grantees, Michigan FQHC Look-Alikes, and MPCA active member organizations. To submit a job opening for posting in the online MPCA Career Center and in the MPCA eUpdate, email the job title, a brief overview, a bulleted list of qualifications, and instructions on how to apply to info@mpca.net with Job Posting in the subject field.

Governor Rick Snyder announced on December 16 that Michigan will receive $70 million in federal funding during the next four years to support innovative health care system enhancements that benefit families. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services dollars will fund Michigan’s Blueprint for Health Innovation, a plan that guides the state as it pursues better coordination of care, lower costs, and improved health outcomes. It is MPCA's understanding that Michigan Health Centers will be participating in some of the funded demonstrations. It is not clear at this time, however, what MPCA's role will be. Stay tuned for more news about this exciting opportunity.

Legislature, Governor Reach Road Funding Deal

Intense negotiations on road funding were the hallmark of the final days of the 97th Michigan Legislature. A proposal was ultimately announced and then passed by both chambers for raising $1.3 billion in funding for road and bridge improvements, which most notably includes increasing the state sales tax from the current rate of 6% to 7%. The proposal will now be put before Michigan voters as a ballot initiative during a special election to be held in May. "Agreement to assure that funding for roads is not taken from funding for schools is a very positive step and should be commended," said Doug Paterson, Director of State Policy at MPCA and Interim Executive Director at the School-Community Health Alliance of Michigan. "Previous proposals that would have reduced K-12 funding could have impacted school based health centers significantly."

REMINDER: MSLRP's New Application Period Opens January 1 with Significant Changes

Significant changes to the Michigan State Loan Repayment Program (MSLRP) have been announced for the fiscal year 2016 application cycle that opens January 1, 2015. Read more

Upcoming BCBSM Grant Opportunity

The Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBSM) Foundation and BCBSM Social Mission Department are collaborating on a program called Specialty Care Access for Underserved Patients in Michigan. The Blues will award a total of $200,000 (for 2-3 grants) to increase access to medical specialty services in safety net organizations. The program is intended to help safety net providers develop or adapt new programs that can be replicated by other providers and in other settings across the state. The request for letters of interest will be released in the middle of January and sent to the Executive Directors of FQHCs, Look-Alikes, free clinics, hybrid clinics, Rural Health Centers, and Tribal Health Centers. Letters of interest are due back to BCBSM March 6, 2015.

Starting early in 2015, Community Health Centers will celebrate 50 years as a vital movement in expanding access to care to millions of people nationwide. The National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) will host anchor events and a communications campaign with the goal of celebrating the people and achievements of the Health Center Movement and bringing attention to the value of Health Centers to the American health care system, particularly as the threat of the funding cliff draws nearer. For its communications efforts, NACHC is identifying Health Center stories that showcase the value of Health Centers and the immediate threats they face due to the funding cliff. Please send your stories and examples along with a brief description of a story as well as your and your Health Center's contact information, location, and state to NACHC’s communications team at asimmons@nachc.org and mballantyne@nachc.org.

The MPCA eUpdate is a weekly e-newsletter intended to keep Michigan Health Centers, MPCA members, partners, and friends updated on the latest happenings impacting Health Centers and providing care to the underserved. Please feel free to forward this to interested individuals, or they may request to be added to the distribution list. Information from outside organizations does not represent an endorsement by MPCA, and opinions expressed by outside authors are not necessarily official positions or policies of MPCA. MPCA's federal grant program titled "State and Regional Primary Care Associations” allows MPCA to provide technical assistance and support to Health Centers in Michigan and is 100% funded by federal dollars at a current annual level of $1,069,988.00.